a restaurant with a view of the ocean and cavelike structure
Glass doors framed in aluminum open entirely to a terrace featuring custom furniture and unobstructed views of the Cairo cityscape.

October 17, 2024

Words: Ravail Khan

Photography: Nour El Refai

Badie Architects Ignites Cairo’s Dining Scene with Escá Cueva

Among the inspirations for Escá Cueva, a new restaurant by Egyptian firm Badie Architects that’s heating up Cairo’s culinary scene, is the feminine form. “I was looking to reflect the body’s complex elegance, while prioritizing comfort and practicality,” recalls founder and chief architect Mohamed Badie, who earned his master’s in architecture from SCI-Arc. But, as witnessed by the sweeping rocklike formations pervading the 5,300-square-foot venue, it’s clear nature contributed to the concept as well. “There’s a sense of enclosure and intimacy, similar to what would be experienced in a grotto,” adds junior architect Farah Kamel—an apt description, as cueva means cave in Latin. 

Sited atop a hill with panoramic city views, the architects have built upon the existing base of a former home, softening and reshaping it with organic forms cut from silhouettes of the human body in motion, and added an expansive dining terrace to take advantage of those vistas. The undulating contours, while raw and elemental, were complex to formulate, made possible by mixing 3-D software and traditional hand craftsmanship by local artisans, wrapping a steel skeleton with a cement-polymer mix painted the color of sand dunes.

Rough surfaces, such as the ecru flooring, complemented by modern custom furniture upholstered in earthy-toned leathers ground the scheme, illuminated by natural and artificial light. Stretched ceiling fixtures emulate the diffuse glow of sunlight filtering in through the rounded openings, while others embedded into creases and depressions accentuate depth and texture. “Blurring the lines between architecture and nature, the user and their surroundings, strategic placement of lighting helped enhance the forms, creating a visual peace,” Kamal adds. The vibe intensifies, however, in the restrooms, where the fluid, monumental curves are lit by vividly hued LEDs that may remind patrons of saffron, a common Egyptian spice.

Explore This Trendy Restaurant by Badie Architects

A restaurant with a large plant in the middle
The female body and Egyptian caves inspired the undulating, cocooning curves.
A restaurant with a large stone wall and a large ceiling
Under stretched ceiling fixtures, the main dining area seats 75.
A restaurant with a large stone wall and a large ceiling
Leather upholsters the custom seating.
A restaurant with a view of the ocean
Glass doors framed in aluminum open entirely to a terrace featuring custom furniture and unobstructed views of the Cairo cityscape.
A room with a bed and a table
In the restrooms, colored LEDs highlight the organic forms found throughout the restaurant. 
A red room with a bench and a table
The color of the restroom LEDs is meant to spark curiosity.
A room with a ceiling and a table
Flooring throughout the 5,300-square-foot space, a former home, is a cement-polymer mix.
A couple of birds sitting on a ledge
The scheme entails a steel infra­structure covered in a cement-polymer mix, achieved with 3-D software and finished by hand by local artisans.
A woman in a red suit standing in a restaurant
The terrace includes a DJ booth.

PRODUCT SOURCES FROM FRONT: AQUA ART: STUCCO WORK (RESTROOM). THROUGHOUT NEOCEMENT: WALLS, FLOORING. COLORTEK: PAINT. MRIYA BY ELLA: BLACK CERAMICS. ARCHILIGHT: LIGHTING DESIGNER. FREE ART STUDIO: GENERAL CONTRACTOR. 

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